Nova
The minute our flight lands and we’re back at the compound, I jump in my car to head to the hospital to check on my father. I’ve heard that he’s awake, out of the coma, but still being kept a few more days while he recovers.
“Wait up,” Ashton says, chasing after me.
I raise an eyebrow as I unlock the passenger door.
He climbs in beside me, and I hit the gas long before he has time to buckle his seatbelt.
I’m in a hurry.
He clicks his seatbelt and adjusts his seat to get comfortable. “Slow down, speed demon,” Ashton jokes, but I’m not laughing.
It’s been a hellacious day. At least Harper is okay, but Rhys—just the mere thought of him running into that building and my eyes burn all over again.
“Your dad’s awake. He’s fine, slow down so we don’t end up in a bed beside him or a coffin,” he mutters.
“That’s not funny!” I glare at him, turning my attention briefly away from the road.
“Stop!” Ashton screams as I nearly plow through an intersection, missing the stop sign.
I slam on the brakes, my heart pounding haphazardly in my chest as I gasp for breath. “Shit,” I grumble, realizing my mistake. Thankfully, no one got hurt, but it could have been another disaster.
One is enough for today.
“How about I drive?” Ashton offers and I scoff at his suggestion.
“No thanks.”
I don’t need him driving. I know how to get to the hospital, and I keep both hands on the steering wheel and avoid glancing at Ashton. He’s too big of a distraction that I don’t need. His silence is strangely comforting, and I concentrate on the road and traffic until we finally pull up at the hospital parking garage.
We head inside the hospital to the visitor’s center, receiving a sticker badge that I affix to my shirt. Ashton does the same and then his hand falls to the small of my back as we follow the maze of hallways to the elevator.
His gesture sends a flutter through my body and I regrettably pull away, tapping the button for the elevator repeatedly.
“It won’t come any faster when you do that.” His voice is light, carefree, without a worry in the world.
Probably because I’m the one shouldering all of it.
I bite my tongue, and when the elevator dings, I exhale a breath and hurry inside, pressing the button for the eighth floor.
Ashton is right at my side, this time keeping his hands to himself. He slides them into his pockets, glancing around awkwardly as we stand in silence.
The doors close and the ride up is anything but short or quiet.
Ashton hums and I raise an eyebrow, glancing in his direction.
I don’t know what tune is going through his head or if he’s making it up entirely. He keeps humming as I glare at him and he seems to ignore my irritability, like it doesn’t exist.
The elevator dings as we reach the eighth floor and I step out first, glancing at the placard in the hallway to determine where I go from here to find my father’s room.
It takes a second and then I make a right, another placard, another hallway. This time, I turn left and follow it until I get near the end of the hallway, across from the nurse’s station. The door is closed and Halsey, dad’s cousin, stands outside, playing bodyguard.
Halsey wordlessly nods for me to enter.
Even if he told me not to, there isn’t much he could do to stop me. I’d throw my security dog, Ashton, at him.
I inwardly snicker at the mental image of Hasley and Ashton fighting and brush it aside as I open the hospital room door, stepping inside.
